Crimson Mist ✔️

51: Nathan is here.

To say I have mixed feelings about Jeremy being officially in my pack, as my Alpha's Beta, no less, would be an understatement. My throbbing neck and my aching heart both pushes me to be near him, to put my hands on his bearded cheeks, stare into his deep, emerald eyes and kiss him senseless now more than ever, but I've kept my distance since this morning.

I told Tristan I wanted my mate to stay when he asked. He asked me, to make sure I was okay, and I didn't make the connection that he was going to make him a part of our pack. Had I been more experienced in the matter, I would have known, but I didn't.

After Petra was finished using her magic to appoint our new Beta, she turned to the only other person left, who wasn't in our pack.

It was Tyler's turn to be brought into the Gibbous pack, but he didn't think it was possible. Thinking back at it, it was without a doubt dramatic when Tyler broke the connection to Nathan, without specific permission. He had no reason to keep in the Crescent pack now that Jeremy wasn't there, but Michael begged him to stop when he fell to the floor in pain.

I rub my eyebrows with my thumb and index finger as I remember the scene that unfolded. Tyler was writhing in pain, Michael screamed at Tristan for making him do it, and Jeremy's mood finally swung from calm and collected, to angry and violent.

Now, there are three deep dents in the log walls inside Tristan's living room from where my mate put his fists. He broke two fingers and sprained his wrist in the first punch, but kept going two more times, until Petra waved her hand and magically tied his hands.

I run my fingers through my loose, red hair and stare down at the ground in front of me. This day went from okay, to good, to confusing, to dreadful. If it changes one more time within these twenty-four hours, I'm losing my mind.

The blonde wolf laid on the floor in agony for at least an hour, while Petra did her best to dampen the pain, cut the bond from his pack, and restrain Jeremy. I didn't do anything, besides watch. It was like something out of a nightmare, with one friend dying, another trying to help, and a third willing to fight whatever's killing the first friend.

Jean eventually came to my rescue when tears started falling down my cheeks, and held me close, whispering that everything would be okay in the end. My arms were too weak to hug her back, but I did my best to thank her wordlessly, as my eyes flickered between my magically restrained mate and my best friend's mate crying and struggling to breathe while his body was in pain.

I could see the red, glittery line from Petra's magic after what felt like forever, and the world stopped functioning as I watched her hand wave it out of existence. The red threads that came from Tyler and went through the walls finally snapped, and the boy wheezed, finally being able to breathe again.

"Nathan fought it," he whispered, "he's almost here."

The blue, frightened eyes from the usually strong and witty wolf made me nervous, and I pushed Jean away from me to run outside.

It was too much for me to handle.

I wiped my cheeks with my sweater sleeves, and ran. I ran all through the still very broken village, until I fell to my knees at the edge of the forest, where I'm currently still sitting, just staring into the darkness in front of me.

The clouds are darkening above me, but I don't care. The only thing in my head is how Nathan, who is a smart, experienced and powerful Alpha, could fight releasing one of his pack members like that, when he must have known what kind of pain it would cause. When I ran out of the Alpha house I realized that Jeremy was actually right; his brother has gone crazy, and he's coming for us.